Hello!

What is pr?

Why is IT IMPORTANT?

(NB:  No  ‘one  size  fits  all’  approach)  

$ink about…

What’s your

What’s your

How Are

you

going to

Your approach Website/

Online  Shop  

Other  retailers  

Blog  

Social  media  Media  RelaAons  

Events  

CollaboraAons  

Your tool kit Blog  content  

plan  

Social  media  content  plan  

Press  release  

Good  quality  images  

Product  samples  

Passion  &  Persuasion  

•  Does  it  have  a  purpose?  •  Are  you  sharing  something  different?  

•  Do  you  have  the  6me?    

•  Commit  to  it  and  post  regularly  •  Work  with  other  influen6al  bloggers  

 

•  Start  a  conversa6on  •  Build  an  on-­‐going  rela6onship  

•  Crowd  sourcing  –  involve  your  fans    

Feb  Week  1   Feb  Week  2   Feb  Week  3   Feb  Week  4  

News    (E.g  new  trends,  seasonal  styles,  naAonal  news  relevant  to  your  product/service)  

Deals/  comps/  other  news    

Regular  feature  (e.g.  Tuesday  Trend  Watch/  Follow  Friday  –  this  gives  fans  something  to  become  familiar  with  and  look  forward  to)  

Anecdote  (This  could  be  something  that’s  happened  to  you/  you’re  working  on  –  something  to  relate  to)  

Crowd  source/  debate/  conversaAon  starter    

•  Think  about  your  key  messages  •  Strongest  points  in  intro  •  Topical  hook  for  story  

 

Good  quality  

images    

Individual  &  group  shots  

See  your  products  on  the  page    

•  Think  about  stock  levels  •  Be  realis6c  about  media  samples  

•  Choose  a  ‘hero’  product  to  focus  on    

$e facts

PR  CAN:    •  Create  media  coverage  in  a  cost  effecAve  way  •  Reach  hard-­‐to-­‐reach  decision  makers/  consumers  •  Create  a  trusted  third  party  endorsement  (peer  to  peer)  

(vs.  adverAsements  which    come  from  a  company/brand)  

 PR  CAN’T:    •    Guarantee  coverage  &  Aming  -­‐  the  news  agenda  dictates    •    Provide  approval  -­‐  unlike  adverAsing  the  message  is  not            paid  for  so  therefore  cannot  be  completely  controlled    •    Provide  explicit  branding  -­‐  clever  routes/stories  are          needed  to  subtly  weave  branding  into  a  story.      

   

$ings to remember:

•  Talk  to  others  •  Tell  a  story  •  Make  sure  the  stock  you  are  pitching  is  available  •  Be  paAent:  coverage  can  someAmes  take  months  •  Create  a  strong  press  release:  key  words  for  SEO  •  Write  features:  group  products  together,  work  with  

others,  3  of  the  best  etc  •  Think  about  seasonal  giT  guides  •  Don’t  forget  about  local/  regional  media      

Source: www.sigmawebmarketing.com

What mak0 people buy?  

•  Increase  awareness  of  your  brand  •  Help  you  to  sell  your  products  •  Develop  valuable  relaAonships  with  key  influencers  •  Build  backlinks  to  your  website  &  improve  search  

rankings  •  Direct  new  followers  to  your  social  media  profiles  •  Build  social  proof  •  Help  spread  the  word  about  new  products  and  

events  •  Save  money  vs  tradiAonal  adverAsing    

Effective PR can :  

•  IniAal  contact  –  send  something  special  in  the  post  •  Call  -­‐  “I’ve  got  a  product  that  will  be  of  real  interest  to  your  readers.  Do  

you  have  a  few  minutes  to  talk  about  it?”  •  Email  immediately!  Busy  journalists  will  forget  about  you  the  moment  you  

hang  up  the  phone.    •  Follow  up  regularly  -­‐  this  is  a  relaAonship  you’re  building  

$e What You Sow PR approach:  

Hi  Lyndsey,      

Thank  you  for  calling  earlier,  as  I  menAoned,  we  did  receive  your  lovely  liVle  press  pack  and  the  company  has  been  put  forward  as  one  of  our  ‘go  to’  companies  when  looking  for  products  to  feature  editorially.      Both  the  editor  and  myself  love  the  website,  we  just  need  to  ensure  that  we  have  relevant  features  in  place  first.  We  always  do  two  ‘Garden  Buy’  features  each  month,  so  if  you  have  any  Ap  offs  of  one  of  your  products  that  are  selling  extremely  well,  I’d  always  be  keen  to  hear  from  you.        In  the  meanAme,  I’ve  fallen  in  love  with  the  Orla  Kiely  plant  pot  and  the  sprout  bookmark,  so  I’ll  be  pinning  and  facebooking  them  shortly.      

Once  again,  thank  you  for  sending  the  press  pack  over,  it  really  was  appreciated  and  I’ll  certainly  do  all  I  can  to  help  promote  such  ‘lovely  things  for  the  garden.’    Kind  Regards,    Siobhan  

Dear  Lyndsey,      

How  very  nice  to  hear  from  you,  and  SO  nice  to  have  some  feedback  on  the  response  to  the  column,  which  I  rarely  get!  I'm  delighted  to  hear  that  it  brought  in  some  new  orders  and  new  visitors  to  the  site.        

Keep  me  posted  on  any  new  products  and  hopefully  I  can  feature  you  again!      Constance  x  

Hi  Lyndsey      Thanks  for  sending  this  over...  what  a  brilliant  idea...    

Yes,  we’d  love  to  give  What  You  Sow  a  plug  –  if  we’re  out  in  April,  presumably  this  will  be  good  Aming?  Any  images  or  addiAonal  info  you  can  send  will  be  great  and  I’ll  be  in  touch  in  a  few  weeks  for  a  few  more  details...    

Thanks  again  for  thinking  of  the  magazine  and  your  tweets  etc  are  much  appreciated...      All  the  best      Cinead  

$e kind of r0pons0 you should be aiming for:  

Top 10 actionable tips: 1.  Be  the  most  charming,  most  polite  version  of  yourself.  Always.    2.  Buy  and  read  the  publicaAons  you  are  pitching  to  -­‐  have  a  good  

mix.  Be  prepared  to  spend  a  lot  of  Ame  on  research  3.  Always  write  to  a  specific  person    4.  Proof  read  your  press  release    5.  Don’t  be  afraid  to  call  them  –  but  NEVER  on  a  deadline  6.  Have  stunning  photography    7.  Make  journalists  feel  delighted  to  hear  from  you  –  always  thank  

them  for  coverage  8.  When  someone’s  rude  to  you,  don’t  take  it  personally.    9.  Never  bank  on  a  PR  feature  having  a  direct  effect  on  sales  

volume.    But  also  make  sure  you  have  enough  stock  if  it  does.    10. Maintain  a  library  of  press  features  on  your  website  with  clear  

details  of  how  to  get  in  touch  with  you.    

Recommendations:

The  PR  Masterclass    By  Alex  Singleton  

The  15  essenAal  markeAng  masterclasses    by  Dee  Blick  

Use4l links

•  hVp://www.forbes.com:  interesAng  arAcles  about  trends.  Keep  on  top  &  use  as  hooks  to  talk  to  media  

•  hVp://www.thedesigntrust.co.uk    •  www.mashable.com  :  online  markeAng  Aps  •  hVp://www.smarta.com/advice/sales-­‐and-­‐

markeAng/pr/public-­‐relaAons-­‐(pr)-­‐for-­‐businesses-­‐the-­‐basics/    

•  www.journalisted.com:  journo  database  •  �#brightonhour  –  Monday  8.30pm    •  #journorequest  

$anks for l5tening!

Contact  Emma  (aka  BeVy):  

Any qu0tions?

/betsandbobs    /betsandbobs    /beqyoh  

Contact  Lyndsey:  

/whatyousowshop    /whatyousow    /whatyousow